Monday, September 28, 2009

Baby's first....TV?

I try to keep Lydia's TV time to around an hour a day. Maybe 90 minutes if she watches the occasional movie. As for Collin, I don't let him watch any TV. I try to abide by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) who recommend "no television viewing for children under age 2, and no more than two hours of daily media exposure for ages 2 and older". Seems like good advice, so I try to follow it. 95% of the time I stick to it, but every other month or so, when I am going really crazy I announce a TV day. I let Lydia watch several hours to allow myself to reclaim a bit of sanity. Usually it is the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Lydia really likes that show. Judge me if you will, but it is better than screaming into a pillow. Really and truly, I've only had a handful of TV days.

Well, last week Lydia was watching "Beauty and the Beast" on the laptop. (The one princess movie where the princess actually gets to know the prince before she marries him....) Collin was in his chair watching me load the dishwasher. The next thing I know, Lydia has dragged the computer over to Collin so they could watch together. It was so sweet, I decided to let him watch for a few minutes.

At first Collin seemed to like it.

But the "fight scene" between the enchanted objects and the mob of villagers seemed to be a bit startling.

Before I could say anything, Lydia took control and shielded his innocent eyes. What a good big sister. :)

Just out of curiosity, how much TV do you let your kids watch per day?

18 PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY:

I am bad. I let my soon to be two year old watch tv daily. He watches about 4 cartoons on an average day, but I will say it's PBS Kids, and he has learned to count, read and spell his name ... I have been SO SO SO impressed by the learning shows!

Very cute of Lydia to do that. My boys usually turn on the TV for noise when they are playing but they do not actually sit down and watch it a whole bunch. I would say 1-2 hours per day tops! Most days less! They are big into playing!

Awhile ago I was beating myself up over the amount of tv watched in our house. Tristan watches 1-2 cartoons (so an hour to 1 1/2 hours if one is Sesame Street) and then Jeopardy (I don't know why a 2-year-old loves it but he does). And then I watch 1/2 hour of news in the morning during breakfast and at night, our tv is usually just on.
That's not to say he sits and watches always, especially when it's not "his" shows.
Once maybe a month, we do have a movie day where it's on all day, but that's maybe once a month. :) And it's fun bc I love movies!

This is a constant battle I have - because my 3 year old LOVES movies and ask constantly to watch them. It drives me nutz to have him asking me every 5 minutes if he can watch a movie. So, all too often, I give in. However, I have instituted a no TV before 8am rule because he'll get up at like 6:45am and start begging for a movie. That means by 8am we've watched all the TV we should for the day and then I feel stuck. I'm guessing on days he doesn't have preschool he watches close to 3 hours a day - between "his shows" and me catching up on Biggest Loser or Monk. Plus, because our home is small, my 9 month old is usually in the room so I assume she's catching some of it. So my goal this school year is to do more projects and less TV.

I would say my 10 month old watches tv about 1 1/2 hours a day. I know that sounds horrible...please don't judge... but most of it is watching "Your Baby Can Read" DVD's. I put it on after her naps because that is when she is willing to watch it the most.

oh my gosh- that is adorable! I don't have kids... so I can't answer that question yet. I always thought I wouldn't have the tv on much... but after knowing it can make or break the line of insanity- I'm all for it. bad or not, I don't care! :) You have to do what works for you and your family!

Usually my oldest (same age as Lydia) gets one show a day (usually 30 minutes) and the youngest may or may not be paying attention (he is 14 months old). About once or twice a week he can choose one movie to watch and around here it is either Toy Story or Toy Story 2. Though every once ina while, ahem, like today, it is a T.V. day, where PBS gets turned on and vegging takes place. HA

That is so cute! I can't believe she hid his eyes!! Sweet girl! I honestly believe the amount of time differs depending on what they are watching! My boys love national geographic, animal planet, history....etc. Cartoons are limited depending on the cartoon.....educational or imaginary people zapping each other with lasars! I feel educational television is fine as long as they are learning and well if I plan on showering, getting ready or using the restroom ALONE!

I keep to the under two hour rule too, and even less if I can get away with it. But some days, like a rainy Saturday, I don't care so much. And my husband watched ENDLESS hours of TV growing up, and also played ENDLESS hours of video games, and now he has a Ph.D. So maybe it's not so bad. : ) And I'm glad to see Lydia protecting her little brother from the scary things in life.

My boys have all grown up watching TV. I have never limited the time only the content. Ean has been watching Sesame Street since he was walking and he loves it. Knows how to sing his ABC's and can count to 5 (he just turned 2) I figured my whole generation grew up on TV and I dont think we turned out bad. People get to bent out of shape on some things.

♥ Cute that she covered his eyes! So Sweet!
I don't let the kids watch any tv on school days unless all homework is totally complete and even then while the weather is still nice before winter they go outside instead. During the day however I'm not so good! I let Olivia watch a couple of movies if I'm cleaning or she helps me depending on her "mood"! :)

Belle is my favorite princess, also! My kids can watch 2 shows a day, but I try to not make a big deal about it. If I am a TV nazi, they seem to cling to the TV even more. If I say it's no big deal, they seem to come and go duing a show.

18 comments:

I am bad. I let my soon to be two year old watch tv daily. He watches about 4 cartoons on an average day, but I will say it's PBS Kids, and he has learned to count, read and spell his name ... I have been SO SO SO impressed by the learning shows!

Very cute of Lydia to do that. My boys usually turn on the TV for noise when they are playing but they do not actually sit down and watch it a whole bunch. I would say 1-2 hours per day tops! Most days less! They are big into playing!

Awhile ago I was beating myself up over the amount of tv watched in our house. Tristan watches 1-2 cartoons (so an hour to 1 1/2 hours if one is Sesame Street) and then Jeopardy (I don't know why a 2-year-old loves it but he does). And then I watch 1/2 hour of news in the morning during breakfast and at night, our tv is usually just on. That's not to say he sits and watches always, especially when it's not "his" shows.

Once maybe a month, we do have a movie day where it's on all day, but that's maybe once a month. :) And it's fun bc I love movies!

This is a constant battle I have - because my 3 year old LOVES movies and ask constantly to watch them. It drives me nutz to have him asking me every 5 minutes if he can watch a movie. So, all too often, I give in. However, I have instituted a no TV before 8am rule because he'll get up at like 6:45am and start begging for a movie. That means by 8am we've watched all the TV we should for the day and then I feel stuck. I'm guessing on days he doesn't have preschool he watches close to 3 hours a day - between "his shows" and me catching up on Biggest Loser or Monk. Plus, because our home is small, my 9 month old is usually in the room so I assume she's catching some of it. So my goal this school year is to do more projects and less TV.

I would say my 10 month old watches tv about 1 1/2 hours a day. I know that sounds horrible...please don't judge... but most of it is watching "Your Baby Can Read" DVD's. I put it on after her naps because that is when she is willing to watch it the most.

oh my gosh- that is adorable! I don't have kids... so I can't answer that question yet. I always thought I wouldn't have the tv on much... but after knowing it can make or break the line of insanity- I'm all for it. bad or not, I don't care! :) You have to do what works for you and your family!

Usually my oldest (same age as Lydia) gets one show a day (usually 30 minutes) and the youngest may or may not be paying attention (he is 14 months old). About once or twice a week he can choose one movie to watch and around here it is either Toy Story or Toy Story 2. Though every once ina while, ahem, like today, it is a T.V. day, where PBS gets turned on and vegging takes place. HA

That is so cute! I can't believe she hid his eyes!! Sweet girl! I honestly believe the amount of time differs depending on what they are watching! My boys love national geographic, animal planet, history....etc. Cartoons are limited depending on the cartoon.....educational or imaginary people zapping each other with lasars! I feel educational television is fine as long as they are learning and well if I plan on showering, getting ready or using the restroom ALONE!

I keep to the under two hour rule too, and even less if I can get away with it. But some days, like a rainy Saturday, I don't care so much. And my husband watched ENDLESS hours of TV growing up, and also played ENDLESS hours of video games, and now he has a Ph.D. So maybe it's not so bad. : ) And I'm glad to see Lydia protecting her little brother from the scary things in life.

My boys have all grown up watching TV. I have never limited the time only the content. Ean has been watching Sesame Street since he was walking and he loves it. Knows how to sing his ABC's and can count to 5 (he just turned 2) I figured my whole generation grew up on TV and I dont think we turned out bad. People get to bent out of shape on some things.

I don't let the kids watch any tv on school days unless all homework is totally complete and even then while the weather is still nice before winter they go outside instead. During the day however I'm not so good! I let Olivia watch a couple of movies if I'm cleaning or she helps me depending on her "mood"! :)

Belle is my favorite princess, also! My kids can watch 2 shows a day, but I try to not make a big deal about it. If I am a TV nazi, they seem to cling to the TV even more. If I say it's no big deal, they seem to come and go duing a show.